Costco Posts Higher Sales, Comps In November, Q1

(RTTNews) - Membership warehouses operator Costco Wholesale Corp. (COST) reported Thursday that its net sales and comparable store sales for the month of November as well as for the first quarter increased from last year.

For the four weeks ended December 1, net sales were $8.78 billion, an increase of 5 percent from prior year's $8.40 billion.

Comparable sales for the month were up 2 percent, with 2 percent increase in the U.S., and a 1 percent growth in the International segment.

Excluding negative impacts from gasoline price deflation and foreign exchange, total comparable sales for the latest-month were up 4 percent. Excluding the items, comparable sales grew 3 percent in the U.S., and 6 percent in the International segment.

For the twelve-week first quarter ended November 24, net sales increased 5 percent to $24.47 billion from $23.20 billion a year ago. On average, 20 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected sales of $25.46 billion for the quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.

For the thirteen weeks ended December 1, the company reported net sales of $26.80 billion, an increase of 6 percent from $25.40 billion last year.

Total comparable sales for the 12 and 13 weeks each grew 3 percent with a 3 percent increase in the U.S. region and a 1 percent increase in the international region. Excluding gasoline price and foreign exchange effects, comparable sales for both periods increased by 5 percent with 4 percent increase in the U.S. and 6 percent increase in the international regions.

At present, Costco operates 648 warehouses, including 461 in the United States and Puerto Rico, 87 in Canada, 33 in Mexico, 25 in the UK, and 18 in Japan, among other regions. The company also operates electronic commerce web sites in the U.S., Canada, the United Kingdom and Mexico.

The company said it plans to release its first-quarter operating results on December 11.

Costco shares closed Wednesday's trading at $122.97, down $0.85 or 0.69 percent.